Systems and methods for enabling service interoperability functionality for wifi direct devices connected to a network via a wireless access point

ABSTRACT

Certain embodiments herein are directed to enabling service interoperability functionality for wireless fidelity (WiFi) Direct devices connected to a network via a wireless access point. A WiFi Direct device may identify various other WiFi Direct devices on a WiFi network for performing a requested service, such as printing content or displaying content to a screen. In so doing, the device may share information associated with an access point to which the device is connected with the other devices, which may also share information associated with an access point to which they are connected. In this way, WiFi Direct devices may discover their connectivity with respect to other devices to utilize a broader array of connection options for implementing a desired service, and hence, may leverage application programming interface (API) modules directed at providing service interoperability functionality between software applications and services requested by the software applications.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/361,147, filed on Nov. 25, 2016, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 14/035,276, filed on Sep. 24, 2013, now issued asU.S. Pat. No. 9,538,561 on Jan. 3, 2017, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/826,109, filed on May 22, 2013, which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety as if fully set forthherein.

BACKGROUND

The WiFi Direct communications protocol enables wireless devices tocommunicate directly with one another to exchange content orinformation, among other uses. The WiFi Direct protocol struggles,however, to provide interoperability between software applications andservices to ensure a consistent, reliable exchange of content orinformation between devices. To address this problem, standards bodiesare currently developing program modes and protocols to improve serviceinteroperability for WiFi Direct enabled devices. Such program modulesand protocols, and hence service interoperability, however, is limitedto devices that communicate directly with one another using thepeer-to-peer protocol. No such interoperability exists for WiFi Directdevices that utilize wireless access points to communicate with eachother in part because the devices do not have knowledge of each other'sconnection capabilities.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The detailed description is set forth with reference to the accompanyingfigures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference numberidentifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. Theuse of the same reference numbers in different figures indicates similaror identical items.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example environment in which various WiFi Directdevices that are connected to a wireless access point may communicatewith one another using various types of communication, according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example computing environmentfor enabling service interoperability functionality for WiFi Directdevices connected to a network via a wireless access point, according toan embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an example process for enablingservice interoperability functionality for WiFi Direct devices connectedto a network via a wireless access point, according to an embodiment ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of an example process for extendingservice interoperability functionality to communication between WiFiDirect devices connected to an AP infrastructure, according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of an example process for identifyingdevices for performing a particular service, according to an embodimentof the disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow diagram of an example process for identifyinginformation associated with a requested service, according to anembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flow diagram of an example process for requestingperformance of a service by a service device, according to an embodimentof the disclosure.

Certain implementations will now be described more fully below withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which various implementationsand/or aspects are shown. However, various aspects may be implemented inmany different forms and should not be construed as limited to theimplementations set forth herein; rather, these implementations areprovided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and willfully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Certain embodiments herein are directed to, among other things, enablingservice interoperability functionality for wireless fidelity (WiFi)Direct devices connected to a network via a wireless access point. AWiFi Direct device may identify various other WiFi Direct devices on aWiFi network for performing a requested service, such as printingcontent or displaying content to a screen. In so doing, the device mayshare information associated with an access point to which the device isconnected with the other devices, which may also share informationassociated with an access point to which they are connected. In thisway, WiFi Direct devices may discover their connectivity with respect toother devices to utilize a broader array of connection options forimplementing a desired service. Effective use of the desired service maydepend on application programming interface (API) modules that provideservice interoperability functionality between the desired service andan application associated with the device that may request the service.As used herein, such service interoperability functionality may enable amore consistent, reliable exchange of information between a softwareapplication or program module requesting a service and the serviceitself. Such functionality may be referred to herein generally asapplication service program (ASP) connection management. The softwareapplication or program module involved in the ASP connection may beassociated with a requester device (or a device requesting performanceof a service), and the service may be associated with a service device(or a device that performs the service), as used herein.

By leveraging connectivity information, WiFi Direct devices may discoverthat they are connected to the same access point, and therefore, maycommunicate with one another via the shared access point rather thanrefusing a direct, peer-to-peer connection which may be unavailable todevices already connected to a network via a wireless access point. Inthis way, service interoperability functionality as described above maybe leveraged by WiFi Direct devices connected to the same wirelessaccess point.

A requester device that has determined that it shares the same accesspoint with a service device may send subsequent information requests tothe service device via the shared access point or via a Tunneled DirectLink Setup (TDLS). For example, a request for particular informationassociated with a requested service may be sent via one of suchconnections. In certain embodiments, as described further herein, arequester device may also communicate with a service device via thepeer-to-peer protocol in the absence of information that the requesterdevice is connected to the same wireless access point as the servicedevice. A service device may, upon receiving a request to perform aservice, determine a particular type of connection to be used forexchanging information associated with the service to the requesterdevice. Such a determination may be based on connection capabilities ofthe requester device and the service device, performance indicators ofthe connection capabilities, etc.

The above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are notmeant to be limiting. Numerous other descriptions, configurations,examples, etc., may also exist, some of which are described in detailbelow.

FIG. 1 depicts an example environment 100 in which various WiFi Directdevices that are connected to a wireless access point may communicatewith one another using various types of communication, according to anembodiment of the disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, a requester device110, printer devices 120 and 130, and a display device 140 maycommunicate with each another. The devices 110, 120, 130, 140 maycommunicate directly with each other and/or via at least one of thewireless access points 152, 154, and 156, according to variousembodiments herein. As used herein, a requester device may refergenerally to a WiFi Direct device that requests a service from aclient-type device, such as a printer device 120, display device 140, orother service or output device. A service device, as used herein, mayrefer to a client-type or output device that performs a particularservice, such as printing content (e.g., the printer devices 120 and130), outputting content to a display (e.g., the display device 140), orvarious other services.

Example communications to facilitate enabling service interoperabilityfunctionality as described herein may be as follows. In one example, therequester device 110 may send a probe request to discover or identifydevices that are within range on a wireless network. The probe requestmay be sent using the peer-to-peer or WiFi Direct protocol, in oneembodiment. The probe request may include various information such as,but not limited to, information identifying an access point to which therequester device 110 is connected. In the present example, the requesterdevice 110 can be connected to the access point 160, as indicated bydotted line 101 a. One device that may receive the probe request may bethe printer device 120. Upon receiving the probe request, the printerdevice 120 may become aware that the requester device 110 is connectedto the access point 160. The printer device 120 may have been unaware ofsuch information prior to receiving the probe request. The other printerdevice 130 and the display device 140 may also receive the proberequest, as indicated by lines 105 and 111, respectively.

Devices that receive a probe request may send a response to the proberequest, referred to herein as a probe response. Probe responses mayalso include various information such as, but not limited to,information associated with an access point to which a service devicethat received the probe request is connected. For example, the printerdevice 120 may send a probe response to the requester device 110 thatindicates that the printer device 120 is also connected to the accesspoint 160, as indicated by dotted line 101 b. Upon the requester device110 becoming aware that the printer device 120 is also connected to theaccess point 160, communication between the requester device 110 and theprinter device 120 may occur via the access point infrastructure 160.The requester device 110 and the printer device 120 may also communicatedirectly with one another using Tunneled Direct Link Setup (TDLS) sinceboth devices are connected to a WiFi network via the access point 160.According to one example, the requester device 110 may send a servicediscovery request, a request to perform a service, etc., to the printerdevice 120 via the access point 160 or TDLS to receive informationassociated with a print request. Prior to discovering that the printerdevice 120 is connected to the same access point 160, the requesterdevice 110 may have attempted to establish direct communication with theprinter device 120, consistent with the WiFi Direct protocol.

In an example embodiment, the printer device 120 may be equipped with asingle wireless interface, and therefore, may be able to communicate viaeither the wireless access point 160 or via direct communication otherdevices, but not both. According to this example embodiment, the printerdevice 120 may not establish a peer-to-peer connection with therequester device 110 but may establish a connection via the access point160 or a TDLS link. Receiving an indication in the probe request thatthe requester device 110 is connected to the same access point 160 mayenable the printer device 120 to establish communication via a wirelessaccess point or TDLS link instead of refusing connection requests fromdevices that request peer-to-peer communication but also have capabilityto connect via a wireless access point, according to one embodiment. Inthis way, devices that are connected to a wireless access point mayleverage service interoperability functionality as described hereinbetween themselves, whereas such functionality may have otherwise beenavailable only to devices that are directly connected to one another.

Another example communication in accordance with an embodiment may be asfollows. The requester device 110 and the printer device 130 may alsoexchange information associated with their connectivity, as describedabove. In one embodiment, the printer device 130 may include twowireless interfaces that may, for example, allow it to communicate via awireless access point and via direct communication. According to oneexample, the printer device 130 may be currently communicating directlywith the display device 140 via the peer-to-peer protocol using onewireless interface, and may connect to the requester device 110 via theaccess point 160 infrastructure using the second wireless interfacesince the two devices are connected to the same access point 160, asindicated in the probe request and the probe response described above.

As another example, the requester device 110 and the display device 140may also exchange information associated with their connectivity, asdescribed above. In the present example, the display device 140 may beconnected to the access point 162 (as shown by line 109), which isdifferent from the access point 160 to which the requester device 110 isconnected. Because the two access points are different, the requesterdevice 110 and the display device 140 may not establish connectivityusing a wireless access point. According to this example, the requesterdevice 110 may establish a peer-to-peer connection with the displaydevice 140. The computing device 110 may include two wirelessinterfaces, which for purposes of illustration only are represented byantennas 112 a and 112 b, to facilitate communications with a printerdevice (e.g., the printer device 120 or 130) and the display device 140.

The above examples in FIG. 1 are for purposes of illustration and arenot meant to be limiting. For example, a different number of devices,wireless interfaces, and access points may exist. Also, different typesor protocols of communication may exist in other examples. Further,services other than printing and displaying content may also beimplemented. Any service configured to receive and/or sendcommunications between WiFi Direct devices may exist in other examples.

As used herein, the term “device” may refer to any computing componentthat includes one or more processors that can be configured to executecomputer-readable, computer-implemented, or computer-executableinstructions. Example devices can include client-type devices,output-type devices, wearable devices, personal computers, servercomputers, server farms, digital assistants, smart phones, personaldigital assistants, digital tablets, smart cards, Internet appliances,application-specific circuits, microcontrollers, minicomputers,transceivers, kiosks, or other processor-based devices. The execution ofsuitable computer-implemented instructions by one or more processorsassociated with various devices may form special purpose computers orother particular machines that may implement or facilitateauthentication of access to an operating system by a user using beforethe operating system is booted using a wireless communication token.

As used herein, the term “service” may refer to a set of relatedsoftware functionalities that may be reused for various purposes,together with policies that control its usage.

The requester device 110 may also include a radio receiver (not shown).A physical layer interface in the radio receiver may include a radiofrequency (RF) unit that may be configured to provide for reception ofone or more RF signals at one or more frequencies. According to oneconfiguration, the RF unit may include an amplifier, a mixer, a localoscillator, and so forth. The RF unit may be implemented as discreteelectronic components, integrated circuits, software-defined radio, or acombination thereof, according to various configurations. The requesterdevice 110 may further include a radio transmitter that may send one ormore RF signals to one or more access points, such as access points 160,162, and 164, as an example. In some configurations, the requesterdevice 110 may include a radio transceiver that may receive and send RFsignals. A transceiver (or the receiver and/or the transmitter) may becoupled to one or more antennas (e.g. antennas associated with therequester device 110. In one embodiment a single wireless interface mayinclude multiple antennas that may be used to reduce the effects ofmultipath fading on received signals, for example, when signals sentfrom between devices are deflected off of one or more walls 166 in theenvironment 100.

Turning to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of an examplecomputing environment 200 for enabling service interoperabilityfunctionality for WiFi Direct devices connected to a network via awireless access point. The one or more networks 205 may facilitatecommunication between certain devices 210, 250, 270, which are similarto the devices 110, 120, 130, 140, 160, 162, 164 shown in FIG. 1. Suchnetworks 205 may include any number of wired or wireless networks thatcan enable various computing devices in the example computingenvironment 100 to communicate with one another. In some embodiments,other networks, intranets, or combinations of different types ofnetworks may be used including, but not limited to, wireless fidelity(WiFi) networks, WiFi Direct networks, NFC networks, Bluetooth®networks, the Internet, intranets, cable networks, cellular networks,landline-based networks, radio networks, satellite networks, othershort-range, mid-range, or long-range wireless networks, or othercommunication mediums connecting multiple computing devices to oneanother.

The computing environment 200 shown in FIG. 2 may include, but is notlimited to, one or more requester devices 210, one or more servicedevices 250, and one or more access points 270. The requester device 210and the service devices 250 may send data frames between one anotherusing various types of communication, such as peer-to-peer, via anaccess point, or via a TDLS link, as described above. As used herein, aframe may refer to a data unit that encapsulates one or more packets,which may include payloads or data, for transmission across a network,such as the WiFi, WiFi Direct, etc.

In some embodiments, various modulation techniques may be used formodulating signals that may include information in frames distributedover the one or more networks 205, such as Orthogonal Frequency DivisionMultiplexing (OFDM), dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM),phase-shift keying (PSK), frequency-shift keying (FSK), amplitude-shiftkeying (ASK), and quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), among othertechniques. Each of the devices shown in FIG. 2 may utilize suchmodulation techniques, as well as demodulation techniques, to accessinformation from a modulated signal.

The devices 210, 250, and access points 270 in FIG. 2 may include one ormore processors configured to communicate with one or more memorydevices and various other components or devices. For example, therequester devices 210 may include one or more processors 212, one ormore input/output (I/O) devices 214, storage 216, one or morecommunication connections 218, and one or more data stores 222. The oneor more processors 212 may be implemented as appropriate in hardware,software, firmware, or a combination thereof. With respect to theservice devices 250 and the access points 270, the one or morerespective processors 252, 272 may be the same or at least similar tothe processor 212 associated with the requester devices 210.

The memory 224 associated with the requester devices 210 may storeprogram instructions that are loadable and executable on the associatedprocessor 212, as well as data generated during the execution of theseprograms. Depending on the configuration and type of the requesterdevice 210, the memory 224 may be volatile, such as random access memory(RAM), static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory(DRAM); or non-volatile, such as read-only memory (ROM), ElectricallyErasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), flash memory, etc. Withrespect to the service devices 250 and the access points 270, therespective memories 260, 282 may be the same or at least similar to thememory 224 associated with the requester devices 210.

The storage 216 associated with the requester devices 210 may includeremovable and/or non-removable storage including, but not limited to,magnetic storage, optical disks, and/or tape storage. The disk drivesand their associated computer-readable media may provide non-volatilestorage of computer-readable instructions, data structures, programmodules, and other data for the computing devices. With respect to theservice devices 250 and the access points 270, the respective storage256 and 276 may be the same or at least similar to the storage 216associated with the requester devices 210.

In any instance, the memory 224, 260, 282, and the storage 216, 256,276, both removable and non-removable, are all examples ofcomputer-readable storage media. For example, computer-readable storagemedia may include volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removablemedia implemented in any method or technology for storage of informationsuch as computer-readable instructions, data structures, programmodules, or other data.

The I/O devices 214 associated with the requester devices 210 may enablea user to interact with the requester device 210 to, among other things,select a device for performing a particular service, one or moreparameters associated with the service, etc. The I/O devices 214 mayinclude, but are not limited to, a keyboard, a mouse, a pen, a voiceinput device, a touch input device, a gesture detection or capturedevice, a display, a camera or an imaging device, speakers, and/or aprinter. With respect to the service devices 250 and the access points270, the respective I/O devices 254 and 274 may be the same or at leastsimilar to the I/O devices 214 associated with the requester devices210.

The one or more communication connections 218 associated with therequester devices 210 may allow the requester device 210 to communicatewith other devices, such as the service devices 250 and the accesspoints 270 via the one or more wireless and/or wired networks 205. Inone embodiment, the communication connections 218 may include one ormore antennas 220 and one or more radios 219, which may include hardwareand software for sending and/or receiving wireless signals over thevarious types of networks 205 described above. With respect to theservice devices 250 and the access points 270, the respectivecommunication connections 258 and 278 may be the same or at leastsimilar to the communication connections 218 associated with therequester devices 210. For example, the communication connections 258may include one or more radios and antennas that may enable the servicedevice 250 to receive and/or send wireless signals to the requesterdevice 210 or to the access point 270, which may route the wirelesssignals originating from the service device 250 to the requester device210.

The one or more data stores 222 associated with the requester devices210 may store lists, arrays, databases, flat files, etc. In someimplementations, the data stores 222 may be stored in a memory externalto the requester device 210 but may be accessible via one or morenetworks, such as with a cloud storage service. The data stores 222 maystore information that may facilitate enabling service interoperabilityfunctionality for WiFi Direct devices connected to a network via anaccess point infrastructure as described herein. Such information mayinclude, but is not limited to, information associated with an accesspoint 270 to which the requester device 210 is connected, such as aMedia Access Control (MAC) address, or a corresponding basic service setidentification (BSSID) or service set identifier (SSID), a flagcorresponding to a bit value indicating a current connection state of aWiFi Direct device with respect to an access point, an operating classindicating a frequency band at which the access point is currentlyoperating, an indication of a channel number on which the access pointis currently operating, a country code in which the operating class andchannel number fields are valid, a time offset indicating when a WiFiDirect device connected to the access point will be available on theconcurrent operating channel, etc.; information that may be used togenerate frames for transmitting packets including data across anetwork, such as frame size, delimiters, etc.; and various otherinformation that may facilitate the processes described herein.

Turning to the contents of the memory 224 associated with the requesterdevices 210, the memory 224 may include, but is not limited to, anoperating system 226, one or more user applications 228, one or moreservice interoperability application programming interface (API) modules230, and various program modules to implement, facilitate, or otherwiseprovide certain processes described herein, such as a communicationmodule 232, a frame generation module 234, and a connectiondetermination module 236. Each of these modules 230, 232, 234, 236 maybe implemented as individual modules that provide specific functionalityassociated with enabling service interoperability functionality for WiFiDirect devices connected to a network via a wireless access pointinfrastructure. Alternatively, one or more of the modules 230, 232, 234,236 may perform all or at least some of the functionality associatedwith the other modules.

The operating system 226 associated with the memory 224 may refer to acollection of software that manages computer hardware resources andprovides common services for computer programs to enable and facilitateoperation of such programs. Example operating systems may include UNIX,Microsoft Windows, Apple OS X, etc.

The one or user applications 228 associated with the memory 224 mayperform any number of functions, including enabling a user to viewand/or interact with content (e.g., text, data, video, multimedia, orother information). Example user applications 228 may enable the user toutilize various services, such as printing content or sharing thecontent with a display device (e.g., the display device 140 in FIG. 1),and may include one or more device drivers to facilitate such functions.

The service interoperability API modules 230 associated with the memory224 may include a common set of APIs and protocols directed to enablingservice interoperability between the user applications 228 and variousservices (e.g., printing, displaying and/or interacting with content ona display device, etc.). In one embodiment, at least a portion of theservice interoperability API modules 230 may include modules developedby the WiFi Alliance to provide such service interoperability. Thespecifications describing the service interoperability may be defined inthe WiFi Direct Service (WFDS) specification. In one embodiment, theservice interoperability API modules 230 may be invoked by a softwareapplication or other program module such that the functionality providedby the service interoperability API modules 230 may be utilized,including enabling communication between a software application thatrequests a service and the requested service.

The communication module 232 associated with the memory 224 may enablethe requester device 210 to communicate with the service devices 250 andthe access points 270. For example, the communication module 232 maysend a probe request to the service device 250 using the peer-to-peerprotocol and may receive a probe response from the service device 250.The probe request may include information associated with an accesspoint 270 to which the requester device 210 is connected, among otherinformation. The probe response may include information associated withan access point 270 to which the service device 250 is connected, amongother information.

The communication module 232 may also send a request for informationassociated with one or more services (referred to herein as a discoveryrequest) and receive a response to the request that includes informationassociated with the requested service (referred to herein as a discoveryresponse). The discovery request and the discovery response may be sentusing either a layer 2 or layer 3 protocol, depending on the networkconnectivity of the requester device 210 and the service device 250, aswill be described in greater detail below.

The communication module 232 may further send connection capabilities ofthe requester device 210 and a request for session information (referredto herein as a session request frame), among other information, to theservice device 250. The communication module 232 may also receive aresponse to the request (referred to herein as a session responseframe). In one example, the session request frame may include a file tobe printed by a service device 250, such as a printer device.

The frames sent and received by the communication module 232 may beEthernet frames, User Datagram Protocol (UDP) frames, or other types offrames. Examples describing the above types of requests and responseswill be described in greater detail below.

The frame generation module 234 associated with the memory 224 maygenerate frames for distribution by the communication module 232. In sodoing, the frame generation module 234 may perform various functions.One such function may include determining information that may beincluded in a frame. Such information may be accessed in the data store222 or other storage mechanism. Another function may include addingattributes to the frame for distribution over the one or more networks205. An example attribute may include information associated with anaccess point to which the requester device 210 is connection (e.g., theaccess point 270). Another attribute may include an indication of aprotocol used to distribute a frame. In one example, the framegeneration module 234 may indicate a layer 3 protocol such as, but notlimited to, Bonjour or Universal Plug and Play (UPnP). Bonjour and UPnPmay refer generally to a set of networking protocols that permitsnetworked devise to discover each other's presence on a network andestablish functional network services for data sharing, communications,and/or other functions. The communication module 232 may invoke such aprotocol to distribute the frame upon reading the indication, in oneembodiment. A layer 3 protocol may be utilized when the requester device210 and the service device 250 share the same access point 270, in oneembodiment. As another example, the frame generation module 234 mayindicate a layer 2 protocol, which may also be invoked by thecommunication module 232 to distribute a frame directly to anotherdevice. An example layer 2 protocol may include, but is not limited to,peer-to-peer.

The connection determination module 236 associated with the memory 224may determine a type of communication for sending information from therequester device 210, such as via an access point 270 or peer-to-peer,as non-limiting examples. In one embodiment, such a determination may bemade by comparing information associated with an access point to whichthe requester device 210 is connected to information associated with anaccess point to which the service device 250 is connected, as may beidentified in a probe response. If at least a portion of the informationmatches, such as the BSSID or MAC address of the access points, then oneor more access points 270 may be used for communication. The one or moreaccess points 270 may forward or route information between the requesterdevice 210 and the service device 250. A TDLS link may also beestablished in such instances in which a requester device 210 and aservice device 250 connected to a WiFi network via an access point(e.g., the same access point 270) may establish a direct communicationlink with one another. If the access point information does not match,then the peer-to-peer protocol may be used to communicate informationbetween the requester device 210 and the service device 250, in oneembodiment.

Turning to the contents of the memory 260 associated with the servicedevices 250, the memory 260 may include, but is not limited to, firmware262, one or more service applications 264, a service frame generationmodule 266, and a service connection determination module 268. Each ofthese modules 266, 268 may be implemented as individual modules thatprovide specific functionality associated with enabling serviceinteroperability functionality for WiFi Direct devices connected to anetwork via a wireless access point infrastructure. Alternatively, oneor more of the modules 266, 268 may perform all or at least some of thefunctionality associated with the other modules.

The firmware 262 associated with memory 260 may include program code anddata stored in a persistent memory (e.g., ROM, flash memory, etc.) forcontrolling the operation of the service device 250. In one embodiment,the firmware 262 may provide various services for the service device250. For example, a firmware 262 associated with a printer device maycontrol the receipt and printing of content, among other functions. Asanother example, a firmware 262 associated with a display device maydisplay received content to a screen where it may be viewed by a user.Such functionality may also be provided by one or more softwareapplications, which may be loaded in RAM or other volatile memory.

The one or more service applications 264 associated with memory 260 mayperform any number of functions to implement or facilitate one or moreservices provided by the service device 250. In one embodiment, suchservices may include displaying options to a user, receiving selectionsof such options, reconfiguring the service device 250 to performfunctions according to the selected options, subsequently performing atleast a portion of the functions, etc.

The service frame generation module 264 associated with memory 260 maygenerate frames for distribution to the devices 210, 250 in FIG. 2 overthe one or more networks 205. In one embodiment, the service framegeneration module 264 may perform functionality that is the same or atleast similar to the frame generation module 234 associated with therequester devices 210. For example, the service frame generation module264 may identify information associated with an access point 270 towhich the service device 250 is connected, the name or otheridentification associated with services provided by the service device250, configuration parameters, options, other details, etc. A moredetailed description of such information will be provided below.

The service connection determination module 268 associated with memory260 may determine a type of connection for facilitating the requestedservice for the requester device 210. In one embodiment, the serviceconnection determination module 268 may determine the type of connectionby comparing connection capabilities received from a requester device210 to connection capabilities associated with the service device 250.Additional information may also be considered, such as the type ofservice requested and network performance indicators, such as latency ofthe connection, throughput, quality of the connection, etc.

The service device 250 may also have a communication module (not shown)that may send and/or receive information from various devices in FIG. 2.

The access points 270 may include various software and/or programmodules to facilitate the processes described herein. For example, theaccess point 270 may include an AP (access point) communication module284 that may configure the access point to send and/or receiveinformation from the devices shown in FIG. 1. The access points 270 mayroute the information between such devices to facilitate one or more ofthe processes described herein.

The above descriptions in association with FIG. 2 are for purposes ofillustration and are not meant to be limiting. Various otherembodiments, configurations, examples, etc., may also exist. Forexample, at least a portion of the software implemented by the requesterdevice 210 may be implemented by one or more other devices in FIG. 2.Different or additional functionality may also exist. For example, theaccess point 270 may send a beacon packet to the requester device 210that includes information identifying the access point 270. Suchinformation may be stored and used in the generation of a probe requestand other requests by the requester device 210, in some embodiments.

FIG. 3 depicts a block diagram of an example process for enablingservice interoperability functionality for WiFi Direct devices connectedto a network via a wireless access point, according to an embodiment ofthe disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3 via dotted oval 302, a requesterdevice 310 and a service device 350 may be connected to the same accesspoint 370. Another service device 360 may be connected to a differentaccess point 380, as indicated by dotted oval 304. Certain embodimentsherein relate to enabling the requester device 310 and the servicedevice 350 to leverage service interoperability functionality whencommunicating via an access point infrastructure, for example, throughthe access point 370 or via a TDLS link between the requester device 310and the service device 350. Certain embodiments herein may alsodetermine a type of connection to establish for communication. Examplesof such functionality may be as follows.

The requester device 310 may send a probe request to identify devices ona network (e.g., a WiFi network) that may provide certain services. Forexample, probe requests 301 a and 301 b may be sent to the servicedevice 350 and the service device 360, respectively. Probe requests mayalso be sent to various other devices (not shown) but that may be inrange of the requester device 310. In one embodiment, probe requests maybe sent using the peer-to-peer protocol or various other protocols inother examples.

Each probe request may include various information, such as anidentification of one or more requested services. Example services mayinclude, but are not limited to, printing (e.g., by the printer device120 in FIG. 1), outputting content to a display screen (e.g., by thedisplay device 140 in FIG. 1), or any function that may be implementedby a device. The identification of services in a probe request mayinclude a hash value corresponding to the service name, in oneembodiment. A hash function that maps data of variable length (e.g., thename of the service) to data of a fixed length may be used to generatethe hash value, in one embodiment.

Each probe request may also include information associated with theaccess point, such as 370, to which the requester device, such as 310,is connected. Example access point information provided in a proberequest may include a Media Access Control (MAC) address, or acorresponding basic service set identification (BSSID) or service setidentifier (SSID), a flag corresponding to a bit value indicating acurrent connection state of a WiFi Direct device with respect to anaccess point, an operating class indicating a frequency band at whichthe access point is currently operating, an indication of a channelnumber on which the access point is currently operating, a country codein which the operating class and channel number fields are valid, and atime offset indicating when a WiFi Direct device connected to the accesspoint will be available on the concurrent operating channel.

The requester device 310 may receive a probe response in response tosending the probe request. For example, the requester device 310 mayreceive a probe response from the service device 350 and the servicedevice 360, as shown in communications 303 a and 303 b, respectively.The probe responses 303 a and 303 b may be communicated via thepeer-to-peer protocol, in one embodiment. The probe responses 303 a and303 b may include various information, such as an identification of oneor more service names. Such service names may be service names requestedby the requester device 310 in the probe request. In one example, aservice device (e.g., the service device 350) may determine the servicename from the hash value received in the probe request. The proberesponses 303 a and 303 b may also include an identification of theservice, such as a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol(TCP/IP) address of a device providing the requested service, a portnumber associated with the service, etc.

The probe responses 303 a and 303 b may further include informationassociated with an access point to which the service device 350 and theservice device 360, respectively, is connected. Because the servicedevice 350 is connected to the same access point as the requester device310 (as shown by the dotted oval 302), at least a portion of the accesspoint information in the probe response 303 a may match at least anotherportion of the access point information in the probe request 301 a. Forexample, a BSSID in the probe response 303 a may match a BSSID in theprobe request 301 a, which may indicate that the requester device 310and the service device 350 are connected to the same access point 370. ABSSID in the probe response 303 b received from the service device 360may not match the BSSID in the probe request 301 b sent from therequester device 310 because the service device 360 is connected to anaccess point (e.g., the access point 380 as shown by the dotted oval304) that is different from the access point 370 to which the requesterdevice 310 is connected.

As described, the requester device 310 may compare informationassociated with the access point 370 to the access point informationreceived in the probe responses. The comparison may be used to determinea type of connection for communicating with other devices. For example,if the access point information in the probe request matches the accesspoint information in the probe response, then the access pointinfrastructure or TDLS may be used to send and receive informationassociated with a requested service (e.g., the service indicated in theprobe requests 301 a and 301 b). If a match does not exist, thenpeer-to-peer communication may be used to send and receive theinformation, in certain embodiments.

In the present example, a request for information associated with aservice (a discovery request) may be sent from the requester device 310to the service device 350 and the service device 360, as shown incommunications 305 a and 305 b, respectively. The discovery requests 305a and 305 b may include one or more service names, for example, ofservices desired by the requester device 310 and a request forinformation associated with the one or more services, such as devicesettings, configurations, device capabilities, among other information.Particular information may be requested in the service discoveryrequests 305 a and 305 b, in one embodiment. For example, in embodimentsin which the service device is a printer, such information may includefonts supported by the printer, a type of the printer, printing options,etc. The information may be utilized by a user of the requester device310 to select a particular device for providing a service, as will bedescribed in greater detail below.

The requester device 310 may receive a response (discovery response) toservice discovery requests from the service device 350 and the servicedevice 360, as shown in communications 307 a and 307 b, respectively. Aresponse may be received from any device to which a discovery requestwas sent, in certain embodiments. The discovery responses may include,but is not limited to, a name of the service for which information wasrequested; other identifications of the service, such as a TCP/IPaddress, a port number associated with the service, etc.; and statusinformation associated with the requested service, such as particularinformation associated with the service device's settings orconfigurations, device capabilities, etc., as may be requested by therequester device.

In certain embodiments herein, a certain type of communication may beused for sending discovery request information. The type ofcommunication may be based at least in part on connectivity of WiFiDirect devices, in one embodiment. For example, a layer 3 protocol ofthe Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model may be used forcommunicating information between devices that are connected to the sameaccess point. Example layer 3 protocols may include, but are not limitedto, Bonjour and UPnP. As another example, a layer 2 protocol may be usedfor communicating information between devices that are not connected tothe same access point. An example layer 2 protocol may include, but isnot limited to, the peer-to-peer protocol. In the present example, alayer 3 protocol may be used to communicate the discovery request 305 aand the discovery response 307 a, whereas a layer 2 protocol may be usedto communicate the discovery request 305 b and the discovery response307 b. Various other types of communication may be used in otherexamples.

The requester device 310 may display a list of devices providing therequested service along with corresponding service information. In oneembodiment, such information may be obtained from the discoveryresponses 307 a and 307 b. A user utilizing the requester device 310 mayselect one or more devices from the list for performing the service(e.g., via the one or more user applications 228 in FIG. 2).

For purposes of illustration, it is assumed that the user selected theservice device 350 and the service device 360 for performing a printservice. The requester device 310 may send the request to perform theprinting service to such devices based on the connectivity of thedevices, as identified in the probe request and the probe response, asdescribed above. In one example, the requester device 310 may send asession request frame requesting performance of the print service to theservice device 350 via the access point infrastructure 370, as shown incommunication 309 a. As described, such communication may occur becausethe requester device 310 and the service device 350 are connected to thesame access point 370, which may have been discovered by the exchange ofaccess point information in the probe request 301 a and the proberesponse 303 a.

As another example, the requester device 310 may send a request toperform the print service to the service device 360 using thepeer-to-peer protocol, as shown in communication 309 b. The peer-to-peerprotocol may be used because the requester device 310 and the servicedevice 360 are not connected to the same access point in the presentexample. The requester device 310 may determine not to send a request tovarious other devices (not shown) for performing a print service basedon analysis of discovery response information received from suchdevices. Such devices may not, for example, provide the requestedservice according to parameters or configurations requested by therequester device 310, or otherwise may be unsuitable for providing theservice.

The session request frames 309 a and 309 b may include variousattributes, such as session information and connection capabilitiesassociated with the requester device 310, among other information. Thesession information attribute may include information associated withperforming a service. In the example in which a print service isrequested, the session information may include content for printing(e.g., a file, text, etc.), print options according to which the contentshould be printed, etc.

The connection capabilities attribute may indicate a type of connectionthat may be utilized by the requester device 310. As described above,example types of connections may include connectivity via an accesspoint, TDLS, or peer-to-peer. In one embodiment, the requester device310 may indicate its connection capabilities by setting certain bits ina frame segment of the session request frames 309 a and 309 b. In oneexample, the requester device 310 may set bit 4 to 1 to indicate apreference for communication via the access point infrastructure link,or it may set bit 5 to 1 to indicate a preference for communication viaTDLS. The requester device 310 may set either bit 4 or 5 to 0 toindicate that it does not prefer to communicate via the access pointinfrastructure or via TDLS, respectively. The requester device 310 mayfurther indicate a preference for communication via peer-to-peer bysetting both bits 4 and 5 to 0. Various other settings may exist inother examples.

In the present example, the requester device 310 may set bit 4 to 1 inthe session request frame 309 a to indicate that access pointinfrastructure is preferred with the service device 350, for example,via the access point 370 which is both shared by the requester device310 and the service device 350. The requester device 310 may set bits 4and 5 to 0, however, in the session request frame 309 b sent to theservice device 360. Peer-to-peer communication may be preferred for suchcommunication since the requester device 310 and the service device 360are not connected to the same access point. The present example is forpurposes of illustration and is not meant to be limiting. Numerous otherexamples in which different bits are set to indicate a preference fordifferent types of communication may exist.

The session response frames 311 a and 311 b may also include variousattributes, such as a service information attribute and a connectioncapabilities attribute. As shown in FIG. 3, such information may bereceived by the requester device 310 from the service device 350 and theservice device 360. The service information received from the servicedevices 350 and 360 may include status information associated with arequested service, a confirmation associated with one or more requestedoptions or capabilities, etc.

The connection capabilities attribute in the session response frames 311a and 311 b may be based on a determination by the service devices 350and 360, respectively, of which type of connection to use for theservice. The service devices 350 and 360 may make such a determination(e.g., via the service connection determination module 268 in FIG. 2)based on one or more of a particular service requested, an approximatesize of content or information associated with the service, networklatency, reported trouble incidents, other indications of theperformance of a communication between devices over a network. Theservice devices 350 and 360 may also make the determination based ontheir connection capabilities. A service device 350 having connectioncapabilities implemented by a single wireless interface that iscurrently connected to the access point 370 may not, for example,establish a pee-to-peer connection with the requester device 310. Theservice device 350 may, however, establish a connection with the servicedevice 310 via the access point infrastructure 370 upon determining thatthe service device 350 and the requester device 310 are connected to thesame access point 370. The determination may be made based at least inpart on access point information in the probe request 301 a, in oneembodiment.

A service device 350 having connection capabilities implemented bymultiple wireless interfaces may establish one or more types ofconnections. According to one example, the service device 350 maydetermine a preferred connection type based at least in part on whichbits are set in the connection capabilities attribute by the requesterdevice 310. The service device 350 may consider such a preference alongwith its connection capabilities, performance indications as describedabove, and other information in determining a type of connection to usefor the service. The service device 360 may perform the same or similarfunctions, in one embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 3, the service device 350 may determine to use theaccess point infrastructure 370 for facilitating a session with theservice device 310 (as shown in communication 311 a), the TDLSconnection 311 b, or the peer-to-peer connection 311 c. The determinedconnection may be indicated in a connection capabilities attribute inthe session response frame 311 a, 311 b, or 311 c. A session informationattribute including information associated with performing the requestedservice, as described above, may also be included in the sessionresponse frames 311 a, 311 b, and 311 c. Similarly, the session responseframe 311 d received from the service device 360 may indicate a type ofconnection determined by the service device 360 (e.g., peer-to-peer) anda session information attribute, among other information.

The above examples are for purposes of illustration and are not meant tobe limiting. For example, a different number of each device, types ofservices, types of communications, etc., may exist in other examples.

FIG. 4 depicts a flow diagram of an example process for extendingservice interoperability functionality to communication between WiFiDirect devices connected to an AP infrastructure, according to anembodiment of the disclosure. In one embodiment, the example process maybe performed at least in part by the requester device 110 in FIG. 1 andthe service device 150 in FIG. 1. The example process may begin at block402, where one or more service devices for performing a desired servicemay be identified (e.g., by the frame generation module 234). Suchidentification may be performed in accordance with the processes shownin FIG. 5, in one embodiment. For example, information associated withan access point to which the requester device is connected may bereceived at block 502. Such information may include a BSSID, among otherinformation, which may be used to determine whether the requester device310 is connected to the same access point as a service device.

A probe request that includes the information associated with the accesspoint to which the requester device is connected may be generated (e.g.,by the frame generation module 234), at block 504. The probe request maybe sent to the one or more service devices over a network using thepeer-to-peer protocol (e.g., via the communication module 232), at block506, in one embodiment.

If one or more devices are identified that provide the requestedservice, at block 508, then one or more probe responses to the proberequests may be received from the one or more service devices (e.g., viathe communication module 232), at block 510. The probe response mayinclude information associated with an access point to which the one ormore service devices is connected. At block 512, processing may returnto decision block 404 in FIG. 4.

Returning to FIG. 4, if a service device providing the requested serviceis not identified, then processing may return to block 402, where one ormore service devices for performing a desired service may be identified.If at least one service device is identified, then informationassociated with the requested service (service information) provided bythe at least one service device may be determined at block 406.

The determination of the service information may be performed inaccordance with FIG. 6, in one embodiment. For example, at block 602,information associated with an access point to which the requesterdevice is connected may be compared to information associated with anaccess point to which the service device(s) are connected (e.g., via theconnection determination module 236). If the information matches, atblock 604, then a layer 3 protocol may be determined for use in sendinga discovery request to the service device(s) via the access pointconnection, at block 606. Non-limiting examples of layer 3 protocols mayinclude Bonjour and UPnP. If the access point information does notmatch, then a layer 2 protocol may be determined for use in sending thediscovery request to the service device(s) via a peer-to-peerconnection, at block 614.

At block 608, a discovery request frame may be generated for sending adiscovery request to the service device(s) via the determined connectiontype (e.g., via the frame generation module 234). The discovery requestframe may be sent to the service device(s) using the determined protocolat block 610. A response to the discovery request may be received viathe determined connection type at block 612. The response may includeinformation associated with settings, configurations, capabilities,etc., of the service device(s), in one embodiment.

Returning to FIG. 4, a list of the service device(s) and at least aportion of the determined information associated with the requestedservice may be displayed at block 408. A selection of at least oneservice device may be received, for example, by a user viewing thedisplayed information at block 410.

At block 412, performance of the desired service by the servicedevice(s) may be requested. Such a request may be performed inaccordance with FIG. 7, in one embodiment. For example, a sessionrequest frame may be generated at block 702. The session request framemay include session information and connection capabilities associatedwith the requester device for facilitating the desired service. Asdescribed above, setting certain bits in the session request frame(e.g., by the frame generation module 234) may indicate a particulartype of connection desired by the requester device 110. The sessionrequest frame may be sent to the service device(s) via the determinedconnection type at block 704, and a response may be received at block706. The response may include an indication of the type of connectionthat will be used to perform the service, in one embodiment. Such adetermination may be performed by the service device (e.g., via theservice connection determination module 268), as described above.

The operations and processes described and shown above may be carriedout or performed in any suitable order as desired in variousimplementations. Additionally, in certain implementations, at least aportion of the operations may be carried out in parallel. Furthermore,in certain implementations, less than or more than the operationsdescribed may be performed.

Certain aspects of the disclosure are described above with reference toblock and flow diagrams of systems, methods, apparatuses, and/orcomputer program products according to various implementations. It willbe understood that one or more blocks of the block diagrams and flowdiagrams, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and the flowdiagrams, respectively, can be implemented by computer-executableprogram instructions. Likewise, some blocks of the block diagrams andflow diagrams may not necessarily need to be performed in the orderpresented, or may not necessarily need to be performed at all, accordingto some implementations.

These computer-executable program instructions may be loaded onto aspecial-purpose computer or other particular machine, a processor, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a particularmachine, such that the instructions that execute on the computer,processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus create meansfor implementing one or more functions specified in the flow diagramblock or blocks. These computer program instructions may also be storedin a computer-readable storage media or memory that can direct acomputer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function ina particular manner, such that the instructions stored in thecomputer-readable storage media produce an article of manufactureincluding instruction means that implement one or more functionsspecified in the flow diagram block or blocks.

As an example, certain implementations may provide for a computerprogram product, comprising a computer-readable storage medium having acomputer-readable program code or program instructions implementedtherein, said computer-readable program code adapted to be executed toimplement one or more functions specified in the flow diagram block orblocks. The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause aseries of operational elements or steps to be performed on the computeror other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implementedprocess such that the instructions that execute on the computer or otherprogrammable apparatus provide elements or steps for implementing thefunctions specified in the flow diagram block or blocks.

Accordingly, blocks of the block diagrams and flow diagrams supportcombinations of means for performing the specified functions,combinations of elements or steps for performing the specified functionsand program instruction means for performing the specified functions. Itwill also be understood that each block of the block diagrams and flowdiagrams, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flowdiagrams, can be implemented by special-purpose, hardware-based computersystems that perform the specified functions, elements or steps, orcombinations of special-purpose hardware and computer instructions.

Conditional language, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” or“may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understoodwithin the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certainimplementations could include, while other implementations do notinclude, certain features, elements, and/or operations. Thus, suchconditional language is not generally intended to imply that features,elements, and/or operations are in any way required for one or moreimplementations or that one or more implementations necessarily includelogic for deciding, with or without user input or prompting, whetherthese features, elements, and/or operations are included or are to beperformed in any particular implementation.

Many modifications and other implementations of the disclosure set forthherein will be apparent having the benefit of the teachings presented inthe foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it isto be understood that the disclosure is not to be limited to thespecific implementations disclosed and that modifications and otherimplementations are intended to be included within the scope of theappended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they areused in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes oflimitation.

In an example embodiment, there is disclosed a device that comprises oneor more radios and one or more antennas. The device may also include atleast one memory that stores computer-executable instructions, and atleast one processor configured to access the at least one memory,wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute thecomputer-executable instructions to generate a probe request comprisinga request for a service and first information associated with a firstwireless access point to which the device is connected on a wirelessfidelity (WiFi) network. The at least one processor may also beconfigured to send the probe request to one or more service deviceswithin range of the device and receive a respective response to theprobe request comprising an identification of the requested service andsecond information associated with a second wireless access point towhich the one or more service devices are connected on the WiFi network.The probe request may be sent via the peer-to-peer protocol, and theprobe response may be received via the peer-to-peer protocol, in oneembodiment. The device and the one or more service devices may beconnected to a WiFi network and each of the devices may be configured tocommunicate with one another using a WiFi Direct protocol.

The at least one processor may be further configured to determine a typeof connection for a subsequent communication with the one or moreservice devices based at least in part on a comparison of at least aportion of the first information to at least a portion of the secondinformation. The comparison may include comparing a first BSSID in thefirst information to a second BSSID in the second information. When thefirst BSSID matches the second BSSID, the at least one processor may beconfigured to send the subsequent communication to the one or moreservice devices via at least one of the first wireless access point or aTunneled Direct Link Setup (TDLS) link.

The at least one processor may be further configured to invoke one ormore application programming interface (API) modules associated with theWiFi Direct protocol that provide interoperability between the requestedservice and a software application stored in the at least one memorythat requests the service. In one embodiment, providing interoperabilitycomprises communicating information between the software application andthe requested service via the determined type of connection.

In another example embodiment, the at least one processor of the devicemay be configured to generate a session frame comprising informationassociated with the requested service and one or more first connectioncapabilities of the device, the one or more first connectioncapabilities comprising an indication of the determined type ofconnection. The at least one processor may be further configured to sendthe session frame to the one or more service devices and receive, fromthe one or more services devices, a respective response to the sessionframe comprising an indication of a different type of connection to beused for performing the service.

In another example embodiment, the at least one processor of the devicemay be further configured to determine that the first BSSID matches thesecond BSSID and send a discovery request comprising a request forinformation associated with the service to the one or more servicedevices using the Bonjour protocol or the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP)protocol.

In another example embodiment, the at least one processor of the devicemay be further configured to determine that the first BSSID does notmatch the second BSSID and send a discovery request comprising a requestfor information associated with the service to the one or more servicedevices using the peer-to-peer protocol.

In another example embodiment, there is disclosed one or morecomputer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that,when executed by at least one processor, configure the at least oneprocessor to perform various operations. The operations may includegenerating a probe request comprising a request for a service and firstinformation associated with a first wireless access point to which thedevice is connected on a wireless fidelity (WiFi) network. Theoperations may also include sending the probe request to one or moreservice devices within range of the device and receive a respectiveresponse to the probe request comprising an identification of therequested service and second information associated with a secondwireless access point to which the one or more service devices areconnected on the WiFi network. The probe request may be sent via thepeer-to-peer protocol, and the probe response may be received via thepeer-to-peer protocol, in one embodiment. The device and the one or moreservice devices may be connected to a WiFi network and each of thedevices may be configured to communicate with one another using a WiFiDirect protocol.

The operations may further include determining a type of connection fora subsequent communication with the one or more service devices based atleast in part on a comparison of at least a portion of the firstinformation to at least a portion of the second information. Thecomparison may include comparing a first BSSID in the first informationto a second BSSID in the second information. When the first BSSIDmatches the second BSSID, the at least one processor may be configuredto perform the operation comprising sending the subsequent communicationto the one or more service devices via at least one of the firstwireless access point or a Tunneled Direct Link Setup (TDLS) link.

The operations may further include invoking one or more applicationprogramming interface (API) modules associated with the WiFi Directprotocol that provide interoperability between the requested service anda software application stored in the at least one memory that requeststhe service. In one embodiment, providing interoperability comprisescommunicating information between the software application and therequested service via the determined type of connection.

In another example embodiment, the operations may also includegenerating a session frame comprising information associated with therequested service and one or more first connection capabilities of thedevice, the one or more first connection capabilities comprising anindication of the determined type of connection. The operations mayfurther include sending the session frame to the one or more servicedevices and receiving, from the one or more services devices, arespective response to the session frame comprising an indication of adifferent type of connection to be used for performing the service.

In another example embodiment, the operations may further includedetermining that the first BSSID matches the second BSSID, and sending adiscovery request comprising a request for information associated withthe service to the one or more service devices using the Bonjourprotocol or the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) protocol.

In another example embodiment, the operations may include determiningthat the first BSSID does not match the second BSSID and send adiscovery request comprising a request for information associated withthe service to the one or more service devices using the peer-to-peerprotocol.

In another example embodiment, there is disclosed an apparatus forenabling service interoperability. The apparatus may include one or moreradios and one or more antennas. The apparatus may also include meansfor generating a probe request comprising a request for a service andfirst information associated with a first wireless access point to whichthe device is connected on a wireless fidelity (WiFi) network. Theapparatus may also include means for sending the probe request to one ormore service devices within range of the device and receive a respectiveresponse to the probe request comprising an identification of therequested service and second information associated with a secondwireless access point to which the one or more service devices areconnected on the WiFi network. The probe request may be sent via thepeer-to-peer protocol, and the probe response may be received via thepeer-to-peer protocol, in one embodiment. The apparatus and the one ormore service devices may be connected to a WiFi network and each of thedevices may be configured to communicate with one another using the WiFiDirect protocol.

The apparatus may also include means for determining a type ofconnection for a subsequent communication with the one or more servicedevices based at least in part on a comparison of at least a portion ofthe first information to at least a portion of the second information.The comparison may include comparing a first BSSID in the firstinformation to a second BSSID in the second information. When the firstBSSID matches the second BSSID, the apparatus may further include meansfor sending the subsequent communication to the one or more servicedevices via at least one of the first wireless access point or aTunneled Direct Link Setup (TDLS) link.

The apparatus may further include means for invoking one or moreapplication programming interface (API) modules associated with a WiFiDirect protocol that provide interoperability between the requestedservice and a software application stored in the at least one memorythat requests the service. In one embodiment, providing interoperabilitymay include means for communicating information between the softwareapplication and the requested service via the determined type ofconnection.

In another example embodiment, the apparatus may further include meansfor generating a session frame comprising information associated withthe requested service and one or more first connection capabilities ofthe device, the one or more first connection capabilities comprising anindication of the determined type of connection. The apparatus mayfurther include means for sending the session frame to the one or moreservice devices and means for receiving, from the one or more servicesdevices, a respective response to the session frame comprising anindication of a different type of connection to be used for performingthe service.

In another example embodiment, the apparatus may further include meansfor determining that the first BSSID matches the second BSSID, and meansfor sending a discovery request comprising a request for informationassociated with the service to the one or more service devices using theBonjour protocol or the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) protocol.

In another example embodiment, the apparatus may further include meansfor determining that the first BSSID does not match the second BSSID,and means for sending a discovery request comprising a request forinformation associated with the service to the one or more servicedevices using the peer-to-peer protocol.

In another example embodiment, there is disclosed a method. The methodincludes determining, by a service device, one or more first connectioncapabilities. At least one of the first connection capabilities may bebased at least in part on an access point to which the service device isconnected on a wireless fidelity (WiFi) network. The method alsoincludes receiving, by the service device from a requester device, anindication of one or more second connection capabilities of therequester device and a request for the service device to perform aservice. The method further includes determining, by the service device,a type of connection for performing the service for the requesterdevice, and sending, by the service device, information associated withperforming the service to the requester device using the determined typeof connection. The determined type of connection may include at leastone of the first access point, a Tunneled Direct Link Setup (TDLS) link,or a peer-to-peer connection, in certain embodiments.

In another example embodiment, the method may also include receiving, bythe service device from a software application of the requester device,a request to perform the service, wherein interoperability between thesoftware application and the service is provided by an applicationprogramming interface (API) module associated with a WiFi Directprotocol.

In another example embodiment, the access point may include a firstaccess point, and the method may also include receiving, by the servicedevice, a probe request comprising an identification of a second accesspoint to which the requester device is connected on the WiFi network,wherein the probe request is received via the peer-to-peer protocol. Themethod may further include generating, by the service device, a proberesponse comprising the first access point and sending, by the servicedevice, the probe response to the requester device via the peer-to-peerprotocol.

In another example embodiment, there is disclosed a system for enablingservice interoperability. The system may include one or more radios andone or more antennas. The system may also include at least one memorythat stores computer-executable instructions and at least one processorconfigured to access the at least one memory, wherein the at least oneprocessor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructionsto determine one or more first connection capabilities. At least one ofthe first connection capabilities may be based at least in part on anaccess point to which the service device is connected on a wirelessfidelity (WiFi) network. The at least one processor may also beconfigured to receive, from a requester device, an indication of one ormore second connection capabilities of the requester device and arequest for the service device to perform a service. The at least oneprocessor may be further configured to determine a type of connectionfor performing the service for the requester device, and sendinformation associated with performing the service to the requesterdevice using the determined type of connection. The determined type ofconnection may include at least one of the first access point, aTunneled Direct Link Setup (TDLS) link, or a peer-to-peer connection, incertain embodiments.

In another example embodiment, the at least one processor may also beconfigured to receive, from a software application of the requesterdevice, a request to perform the service, wherein interoperabilitybetween the software application and the service may be provided by anapplication programming interface (API) module associated with a WiFiDirect protocol.

In another example embodiment, the access point may include a firstaccess point, and the at least one processor may be further configuredto receive a probe request comprising an identification of a secondaccess point to which the requester device is connected on the WiFinetwork, wherein the probe request is received via the peer-to-peerprotocol. The at least one processor may be further configured togenerate a probe response comprising the first access point, and sendthe probe response to the requester device via the peer-to-peerprotocol.

In another example embodiment, there is disclosed a device for enablingservice interoperability. The device may include one or more radios andone or more antennas. The device may also include means for determiningone or more first connection capabilities. At least one of the firstconnection capabilities may be based at least in part on an access pointto which the service device is connected on a wireless fidelity (WiFi)network. The device may further include means for receiving, from arequester device, an indication of one or more second connectioncapabilities of the requester device and a request for the servicedevice to perform a service. The device may further include means fordetermining a type of connection for performing the service for therequester device, and means for sending information associated withperforming the service to the requester device using the determined typeof connection. The determined type of connection may include at leastone of the first access point, a Tunneled Direct Link Setup (TDLS) link,or a peer-to-peer connection, in certain embodiments.

In another example embodiment, the device may include means forreceiving, from a software application of the requester device, arequest to perform the service, wherein interoperability between thesoftware application and the service may be provided by an applicationprogramming interface (API) module associated with a WiFi Directprotocol.

In another example embodiment, the access point may include a firstaccess point, and the device may further include means for receiving aprobe request comprising an identification of a second access point towhich the requester device is connected on the WiFi network, wherein theprobe request is received via the peer-to-peer protocol. The device mayfurther include means for generating a probe response comprising thefirst access point, and means for sending the probe response to therequester device via the peer-to-peer protocol.

In another example embodiment, there is disclosed one or morecomputer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that,when executed by at least one processor, configure the at least oneprocessor to perform various operations. The operations may includedetermining one or more first connection capabilities. At least one ofthe first connection capabilities may be based at least in part on anaccess point to which the service device is connected on a wirelessfidelity (WiFi) network. The operations may also include receiving, froma requester device, an indication of one or more second connectioncapabilities of the requester device and a request for the servicedevice to perform a service. The operations may further includedetermining a type of connection for performing the service for therequester device, and sending, by the service device, informationassociated with performing the service to the requester device using thedetermined type of connection. The determined type of connection mayinclude at least one of the first access point, a Tunneled Direct LinkSetup (TDLS) link, or a peer-to-peer connection, in certain embodiments.

In another example embodiment, the operations may also includereceiving, from a software application of the requester device, arequest to perform the service, wherein interoperability between thesoftware application and the service is provided by an applicationprogramming interface (API) module associated with a WiFi Directprotocol.

In another example embodiment, the access point may include a firstaccess point, and the operations may also include receiving a proberequest comprising an identification of a second access point to whichthe requester device is connected on the WiFi network, wherein the proberequest is received via the peer-to-peer protocol. The operations mayfurther include generating a probe response comprising the first accesspoint and sending the probe response to the requester device via thepeer-to-peer protocol.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device for establishing a connection with aservice device offering a service, the device comprising storage andprocessing circuitry configured to: determine a connection capabilityattribute comprising at least a first bit and a second bit, wherein thefirst bit set to 1 indicates a first connection type and the second bitset to 1 indicates a second connection type; determine a requestcomprising the connection capability attribute; cause to send therequest to the service device; identify a response received from theservice device, the response including a first indication of a selectedconnection type for the service, wherein the selected connection typecomprises the first connection type; and cause to initiate acommunication session with the service device using the selectedconnection type for the service.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein thefirst connection type comprises a peer-to-peer connection or aninfrastructure connection.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein the firstindication of the selected connection type comprises at least a thirdbit and a fourth bit, wherein the third bit set to 1 indicates the firstconnection type or the fourth bit set to 1 indicates the secondconnection type.
 4. The device of claim 3, wherein the first connectiontype comprises a peer-to-peer connection or an infrastructureconnection.
 5. The device of claim 1, wherein the request comprises asecond indication corresponding to the service.
 6. The device of claim1, wherein the connection is an application service platform (ASP)connection.
 7. The device of claim 1, further comprising a transceiverconfigured to transmit and receive wireless signals.
 8. The device ofclaim 7, further comprising one or more antennas coupled to thetransceiver.
 9. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storingcomputer-executable instructions for establishing a connection with aservice device offering a service that, when executed by at least oneprocessor, configure the at least one processor to perform operationscomprising: determining a connection capability attribute comprising atleast a first bit and a second bit, wherein the first bit set to 1indicates a first connection type and the second bit set to 1 indicatesa second connection type; determining a request comprising theconnection capability attribute; causing to send the request to theservice device; identifying a response received from the service device,the response including a first indication of a selected connection typefor the service, wherein the selected connection type comprises thefirst connection type; and causing to initiate a communication sessionwith the service device using the selected connection type for theservice.
 10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9,wherein the first connection type comprises a peer-to-peer connection oran infrastructure connection.
 11. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 9, wherein the first indication of the selectedconnection type comprises at least a third bit and a fourth bit, whereinthe third bit set to 1 indicates the first connection type or the fourthbit set to 1 indicates the second connection type.
 12. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the firstconnection type comprises a peer-to-peer connection or an infrastructureconnection.
 13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9,wherein the request comprises a second indication corresponding to theservice.
 14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9,wherein the connection is an application service platform (ASP)connection.
 15. A method for establishing a connection with a servicedevice offering a service, the method comprising: determining, by one ormore processors, a connection capability attribute comprising at least afirst bit and a second bit, wherein the first bit set to 1 indicates afirst connection type and the second bit set to 1 indicates a secondconnection type; determining a request comprising the connectioncapability attribute; causing to send the request to the service device;identifying a response received from the service device, the responseincluding a first indication of a selected connection type for theservice, wherein the selected connection type comprises the firstconnection type; and causing to initiate a communication session withthe service device using the selected connection type for the service.16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first connection type comprisesa peer-to-peer connection or an infrastructure connection.
 17. Themethod of claim 15, wherein the first indication of the selectedconnection type comprises at least a third bit and a fourth bit, whereinthe third bit set to 1 indicates the first connection type or the fourthbit set to 1 indicates the second connection type.
 18. The method ofclaim 17, wherein the first connection type comprises a peer-to-peerconnection or an infrastructure connection.
 19. The method of claim 15,wherein the request comprises a second indication corresponding to theservice.
 20. The method of claim 15, wherein the connection is anapplication service platform (ASP) connection.